The Sports Bookie Blog

FA Cup Betting – Man Utd & Arsenal Set for Another Classic

February 14th, 2008

This weekend than main English soccer betting action is in the FA Cup, where the field has been whittled down to just sixteen teams. It is at this stage that pressure really starts to come into play as the remaining teams realise they are just three games from a Wembley FA Cup final. The Big Four are all still in the hat, but we will definitely loose Man Utd or Arsenal, as they face each other at Old Trafford, while Huddersfield and Bristol Rovers fly the flag for the lower divisions.
Arsenal & Man Utd Set For Another FA Cup Classic

When Arsenal and Man Utd where drawn together for the fifth round of 2008 FA Cup, pundits immediately anticipated a classic encounter. Statistics show that these two teams are the most successful in the competition’s 136 year history, between them winning the FA Cup 21 times and appearing in 35 finals. They have met each other 11 times, winning five times each, though their most recent was in the final of 2005, which was an anti-climactic goalless draw which the Gunners won on penalties. Most meetings have however been hugely memorable games, none more-so than the 1999 semi-final.

That game at Villa Park featured a superb Beckham free-kick, a Schmeichel penalty save from Bergkamp, and one of the greatest FA Cup goals ever, scored by Ryan Giggs. Giggs and Paul Scholes are the only survivors of that fixture likely to play on Saturday when the Red Devils will look to bounce back from the crushing disappointment of a Derby defeat to Man City last Sunday in front of a packed and expectant home crowd. United blamed that poor show on the effect of friendly internationals, so with a week to prepare for this game, there can be no excuses. Arsenal will be boosted by their win over Blackburn, which took them five points clear of United, while Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue return from the African Cup of Nations. Both managers will however, have an eye on the midweek Champions League commitments which will impact their selections.

With home advantage PinnacleSports.com price Man Utd favourites 1.813 (0/scratch & -0.5)* with Arsenal 2.130 (0/scratch & +0.5)* – a market priced to just 102%.

 *All odds subject to change – check out the latest prices across the top online sportsbooks live here at BookieLabRat.com.

Here’s a link to the latest sportsbook review on PinnacleSports.com. What’s hot and not about this Asian Handicap betting specialist.

Entry Filed under: English Football,Sports Betting